Wells are often drilled in water environments wherein the well is accessed from a floating platform such as a drilling ship or a floating rig such as semi-submersible rigs. Theses floating platforms move up and down as a result of wave motion. The heaving of the floating platform makes it difficult to conduct wellbore operations and often requires that the operations cease. It is especially difficult to transfer pipe to and from snubbing units for conducting snubbing operations when the platform heaves.
Therefore, it is a desire to provide a heave compensation system that facilitates transfer of tubulars between a floating platform and a snubbing unit. It is a still further desire to provide a heave compensation system that facilitates the utilization of the floating platforms pipe handling equipment for the makeup and breakout of the pipe strings. It is a still further desire to provide a heave compensation system that eliminates the need to provide a separate subsea frame to support the snubbing unit.